Cantor donation roils House GOP

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor went into damage control mode Friday following the revelation that he contributed $25,000 to a super PAC devoted to defeating incumbent House members — including numerous Republicans.

The news of Cantor’s contribution to the Campaign for Primary Accountability, first reported by Roll Call Friday afternoon and confirmed by a spokesman for the super PAC, was said to have taken party leaders by surprise. House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, knowledgeable aides said, had not received advance word that the contribution had been made.

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By Friday evening, Cantor launched an outreach effort to quell the damage caused by his donation to the Houston-based super PAC that has been trying to unseat members of both parties in primary elections. With members settling in for the holiday weekend, multiple House GOP aides said the Virginia Republican had begun phoning colleagues who the Campaign for Primary Accountability had targeted to smooth over any hurt feelings.

CPA has caused widespread consternation on Capitol Hill after spending $132,000 to run ads against Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), who lost unexpectedly in a March 6 primary, and more than $203,000 against Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.). In addition to expenditures against a handful of incumbent Democrats, the super PAC has spent funds to unseat Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) and is currently involved in efforts against Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), who faces a primary challenge on April 24.

Last month, the NRCC announced that it was severing relationships with several campaign consulting firms that had done business with the super PAC.

Cantor’s contribution came during last month’s heated incumbent vs. incumbent primary between GOP Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Don Manzullo, a contest where Manzullo was targeted with more than $200,000 in CPA spending. The super PAC had been running TV ads against Manzullo, a 20-year-incumbent who had been drawn into the same district as the freshman Kinzinger, whom Cantor was openly supporting.

Cantor’s decision to endorse Kinzinger had already been the source of widespread discomfort in House GOP ranks. After Cantor announced that he was supporting Kinzinger on March 8, a little less than two weeks before the primary, Boehner and McCarthy both called Manzullo to distance themselves from Cantor’s endorsement and to promise him they were remaining neutral.

During the final days of the primary battle, Manzullo lashed out at Cantor, calling on him to step down from his leadership position and loudly complained about a Cantor-aligned super PAC, Young Guns Action Fund, that had begun running radio ads backing Kinzinger.